Energy Dewa’s 2024 revenue hits $8bn on rising demand Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), which trades on the Dubai Financial Market, said revenue hit an all-time high of AED31 billion ($8 billion), rising 6 percent annually, thanks to growing demand for electricity, water and cooling. As a result, net profit jumped 6 percent year on year to AED16 billion. Clean power accounted for […] February 11, 2025
Trade Jewellery crowns Turkish exports in January The Turkish jewellery industry reported a more than twofold increase in overseas sales in January, with the United Arab Emirates proving to be by far the biggest buyer. Jewellery exports for the first month of the year came to over $1 billion, according to data issued by the Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TİM). This is up […] February 11, 2025
Real Estate Iraq awards another major project in housing drive Iraq has awarded a construction and development contract for a 120,000-unit housing project to two companies, one Egyptian and one Chinese. Egypt’s Mountain View Company and China Railway will partner with Iraq’s Al-Safi Group to build Palm City in the southern Basra area, provincial Governor Asaad Al-Idani said, according to the Iraqi national news agency. In […] February 10, 2025
Banking and Finance Lebanon bonds rally to near-5-year high with new government Lebanon’s international bonds rallied more than one cent on Monday, two days after a new government was formed. The country’s dollar-denominated bonds jumped 1.1 cents to being bid at around 18.3 cents across most maturities, the highest level since March 2020, Tradeweb data showed. The latest rise extends a sharp turnaround for the bonds, which have lingered […] February 10, 2025
Banking and Finance Ma’aden’s $1bn sukuk nine times over-subscribed Saudi state-owned mining company Ma’aden has sold $1.25 billion of dollar-denominated sukuk to help finance a $12 billion expansion plan. The sale was more than nine times oversubscribed, the company said. The sale, which closed on Sunday, “marks a key milestone in Ma’aden’s ambitious 2040 strategy to secure essential minerals and transform mining into the […] February 10, 2025
Exclusive Sustainability Mashreq calls for state help to push green financing The UAE needs to introduce new incentives, subsidies and tax rebates to increase financing for sustainability projects in the country, a senior executive at Mashreq Bank has told AGBI. “We need the government to introduce incentives and subsidies to create the momentum, the tsunami of sustainable finance,” said Faisal Al Shimmari, Mashreq Bank’s head of […] February 10, 2025
Industry Fertiglobe profit drops as topline falls 17% in 2024 Abu Dhabi-listed Fertiglobe, the largest nitrogen fertiliser producer in the Middle East and North Africa, said that year-on-year net profit in 2024 dropped by over a half on lower revenues. Net earnings fell to $160 million last year compared to $349 million in 2023, as revenues fell 17 percent to $2 billion, Fertiglobe said. Revenue for […] February 10, 2025
Markets IPO for Saudi poultry producer Entaj off to a flying start The initial public offering (IPO) of Saudi Arabian poultry producer Entaj is already oversubscribed, barely 24 hours after the book-building exercise began. Starting the exercise on Sunday and pricing the shares at between SAR46 and SAR50 each, the books were covered “within hours”, CEO Raja Alharbi told AGBI. The IPO could raise more than SAR450 […] February 10, 2025
Video length: 04:42 VIDEO Banking and Finance Why KBW Ventures is focusing its funds closer to home Saudi investor Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed’s KBW Ventures has invested 90 percent of its funds in US companies such as Colossal Biosciences, but now it is keen to invest closer to home, its chief investment officer tells AGBI. CIO Ekta Tolani says KBW Ventures now wants to invest at least 30 percent of its funds […] February 10, 2025
Oil & Gas Pakistan weighs revising terms of Qatar LNG deal Pakistan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) pact with Qatar allows for either party to initiate renegotiation talks next year but no decision has been taken on whether to do this, Pakistan’s petroleum minister told Reuters. Musadik Malik was clarifying comments made to a parliamentary committee on energy, as reported in local newspaper The News, which had […] February 10, 2025
Economy Egypt raises minimum wage in private sector by 17% Egypt’s private sector minimum wage will increase by 17 percent to EGP7,000 ($139) a month from EGP6,000, effective March 1, following directives from president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. A minimum wage for part-time workers will also be introduced for the first time, providing a net hourly wage of at least EGP28 ($0.56), the state-run National Wages […] February 10, 2025
Editor's Insight Economy Navigating volatility: The impact on GCC economies The optimism is welcome – but it may be misplaced. This week the Riyad Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index in Saudi Arabia hit its highest level in more than 10 years – a significant vote of confidence in the Arab world’s largest economy. There was positive news too on jobs in the kingdom. Employment rose “solidly” last year, […] February 7, 2025
Development Opec Fund and Dubai bank partner on Paraguay loan The Commercial Bank of Dubai has partnered with the Opec Fund for International Development to provide a $50 million syndicated loan to Banco Continental to support lending to small and medium-sized enterprises in Paraguay. The Opec Fund will contribute $25 million from its own resources and Commercial Bank of Dubai will provide a $25 million […] February 7, 2025
Leisure & Hospitality Wynn Resorts secures loan for RAK casino The Wynn Resorts joint venture behind the Gulf’s first casino in Ras Al Khaimah has secured a $2.4 billion loan to finance its development. The Wynn Al Marjan Island JV — which includes RAK Hospitality Holding and Las Vegas’ Wynn Resorts — secured the seven-year loan facility, denominated in a combination of AED and USD […] February 7, 2025
Economy Iraq’s external debt halves as projects start to pay off Iraq’s external debt has more than halved, driven by revenue-generating projects that help repay loans, according to a news report. External debt has declined to $9.8 billion from $20.9 billion, state-run Iraq News Agency reported, quoting technical advisor to the prime minister Mohammed Sahib Al-Daraji. He said the government is focussing on investing in productive […] February 7, 2025
Artificial Intelligence UAE and France to invest up to $50bn in AI data centre France and the United Arab Emirates agreed on Thursday to a framework accord for a 1 gigawatt data centre dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) that represents investments of between $30 billion-$50 billion, the French presidency said. President Emmanuel Macron hosted his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan on Thursday evening ahead of a summit […] February 7, 2025
Exclusive Trade UAE and India in talks to expand annual trade beyond $100bn The UAE and India plan to extend their 10-year trade deal to eight new sectors to expand their annual bilateral trade beyond $100 billion, a senior Indian business council official has said. These sectors include artificial intelligence, financial services, digital technologies and logistics. The comprehensive economic partnership (Cepa) agreement – the UAE’s first –was signed […] February 7, 2025
Economy Tunisia drafts plan to merge FDI agencies into one Tunisia’s government has reviewed plans to increase foreign direct investment by merging various agencies into a new Supreme Investment Authority. The SIA would merge six investment-focused government agencies and the Tunisian Investment Authority, plus various offices at home and abroad, into one, according to the local Alshuruq newspaper. A draft law has been reviewed by […] February 7, 2025
Opinion Trade US trade bravado hides a cautious stance on China Presidents Trump and Xi are going through the motions February 6, 2025
Economy EU’s $323m grant to support Turkey’s green transition The European Union (EU) will provide a $322.8 million grant to Turkey to bolster the country’s green and digital transformation drive. The European bloc has provided over €780 million ($810 million) to support Turkey’s green transformation, Jurgis Vilcinskas, deputy head of mission of the EU delegation to Turkey, told the state-run Anadolu Agency. The grant […] February 6, 2025
Artificial Intelligence OpenAI CEO seeks fresh funding in the UAE Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, is to visit Abu Dhabi to seek fresh funding from the UAE-based technology investment company MGX. The visit is likely this week, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed sources. Altman is looking for $40 billion fundraising to upgrade OpenAI’s ChatGPT model and back artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure developer Stargate amid […] February 6, 2025
Tourism Morocco aims to double airport capacity by 2030 Morocco expects airport traffic to reach 60 million passengers by 2030 and 90 million by 2035, according to a government official. The growth from 32 million passengers in 2024 is expected as a result of the 2030 Fifa World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal, Morocco World News reported, quoting transport and […] February 6, 2025
